Numerous attempts have been made to utilize the vast amount of heat which is wasted in internal combustion engines and particularly in gasoline engines. The following U.S. patents show various approaches toward this desired end result:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,011,520; 1,189,103; 1,393,177; 1,373,509; 1,629,677; 2,196,979; 2,737,014; 2,919,540; 4,086,771; 4,235,077.
The Bush U.S. Pat. No. 2,737,014 placed a water reservoir around a series of coils, and the exhaust gasses were passed throgh the coils which heated up and eventually boiled the water in the reservoir. Similarly, the Killman U.S. Pat. No. 1,373,509 discloses a combined gas and steam engine where the boiler and radiator are combined. It is believed that this general concept disclosed in the these patents, that is utilizing waste heat to generate steam, is useful but the particular means in which the various devices utilize this waste heat is believed impractical and a better method is needed to utilize this heat so that automobiles and other vehicles can become more efficient.